Top Commitment

In order to support its goal of becoming a truly global company – and one truly committed to “Serving Society with Superior Quality” – the Bridgestone Group launched “Our Way to Serve,” its new global corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, in March 2017. The following provides a brief overview of the background and goals of our new CSR commitment as well as my thoughts about the importance of this initiative.

Shojiro Ishibashi, who founded Bridgestone in 1931, expressed his belief that a company can not be sustainable unless it also contributes to society. This philosophy continues today through the Bridgestone Group’s mission, “Serving Society with Superior Quality”. Our new CSR commitment, “Our Way to Serve,” incorporates this philosophy and is intended to guide the Bridgestone Group as it serves society while achieving the next stage of sustainable growth.

What do we seek to achieve through “Our Way to Serve” ? Simply stated, we commit to put our ideals into practice by leveraging our strengths and competencies - thousands and dedicated teammates worldwide, a global network, industry leadership and a history of innovation – as we improve the way people move, live, work and play with a focus on our three Priority Areas:

Mobility: Delivering easier, safer smoother and seamless mobility through innovative technology
People: Addressing health, safety and education issues in our communities, and
Environment: Continually working toward a sustainable society.

Along with these Priority Areas, we are committed to continuing to strengthen the basic governance, compliance and behavioral characteristics expected of any responsible company – those elements we call Management Fundamentals. We have grouped those characteristics into six categories and we are committed to leadership in each of them:

Compliance, Fair Competition/Business Continuity (BCP) , Risk Management/Human Rights, Labor Practices/Safety, Industrial Hygiene/Procurement/Quality and Customer Value

Our CSR commitment is not a slogan. Nor is it a short-term campaign. Rather, it is at the core of our enterprise, serving as a guide for the way we intend to do business. It serves as our guide as we innovate and offer products and services of the highest quality and engage in business activities with sincerity and transparency, and demonstrate our ethical values in all that we do. It is also important to know that our Priority Areas and Management Fundamentals build on our experience with and success of our “22 CSR Focus Points,” our first formal CSR program which we launched in 2007, and that Our Way to Serve is consistent with commitments we have made to our stakeholders and our communities. For example, in 2012 we articulated a long-term environmental vision for 2050 and beyond which includes medium-term targets for 2020 to ensure that we are on a clear path towards achieving this vision. As a further example, one of these goals is focused on reducing water consumption as one way for us to lessen our environmental footprint. Specifically, Bridgestone’s global mid-term target is to reduce water intake by 35% (per unit) by 2020 based on 2005 levels. As of 2016, we have already achieved a 28.5% reduction.

In order to ensure the sustainability, and underscore the importance of Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone is building a global CSR management structure. Consisting of members of our global management team, the Global CSR Enhancement Committee (GCEC) will serve as a centralized resource to prioritize Bridgestone’s approach to global issues, and will plan and propose global strategies for sustainability, as well as track the progress of our CSR activities and how well these activities are embedded in our daily operations. The GCEC is also charged with identifying areas for improvement and then sharing all of this information, as well as recommendations for improvement, with the Global Executive Committee (Global EXCO), whose members are the senior leadership team of the Company. In this way, each member of the Global EXCO is actively engaged and participating in “Our Way to Serve”.

Bridgestone is known for using innovation in technology, business model and design to improve the way people move, live, work and play and we will apply these skills in the areas of Mobility, People and Environment in order to contribute to ensuring a sustainable society for future generations.

And while Bridgestone has always used innovation to develop a wide range of products and services, going forward we intend to develop and offer solution businesses that can address social issues while fulfilling customer expectations. The result is a high quality, high innovation benefit for our customers, a positive impact on society, and the recognition by our customers that Bridgestone is a trusted solutions provider. “Our Way to Serve” will help us achieve this aspirational goal.

Sustainable corporate growth is not possible without a sustainable society. To address the questions around ensuring a sustainable society, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, in 2016, the COP 21 Paris Agreement was adopted, calling for substantially zero CO₂ emissions in the latter half of the 21st century.

As an industry leader, one which aims to be a truly global company and Dan-Totsu in those businesses in which we participate, we recognize our responsibility to understand the requirements articulated in these pronouncements and to assess the impact our business has on our world, all as we serve society by improving access to smart, safe transportation; building healthy, resilient communities; and balancing business operations with environmental stewardship. Society expects this from us, and those expectations are growing each day.

Put another way, by fulfilling our social responsibility as a company and securing sustainable growth, earnings and competitiveness, we are creating value for all of our stakeholders. And for that reason it is important to instill a commitment to CSR among all of our 140,000 employees across the 150 countries in which we operate. We are proud of the fact that Bridgestone has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World), but this recognition only means that now we must work even harder to enhance enterprise value from both financial and non-financial standpoints.

The year 2017 marks a new start for the Bridgestone Group and its commitment to CSR. To become a truly global company, we will proactively address social issues, work to fulfill society’s expectations, and contribute to the realization of a sustainable environment and society. Through active dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders, we aim to create common value for our customers and society.